Reimagining falls prevention with insights from systems mapping on the use of millimetre-wave radar for remote health monitoring

TL;DR

This paper explores how millimetre-wave radar could help prevent falls at home by analyzing expert insights and system mapping.

Contribution

The study introduces systems mapping to evaluate millimetre-wave radar's potential for proactive falls prevention.

Findings

Experts identified mobility deterioration and previous falls as key indicators of future falls.

Radar-based home monitoring is seen as a way to reduce fall risks and related costs.

Increased screening in current practice could reduce risks but increase healthcare workloads.

Abstract

Falls constitute a significant public health concern, demanding innovative solutions that transcend traditional methodologies. Current falls practice focuses on reactive post-fall assessment and management rather than proactive prevention and mitigation. We propose that millimetre-wave radar technology for real-time, continuous falls risk screening at home may address the limitations of current falls practice. To investigate the feasibility of this solution, we interviewed five experts in physiotherapy, falls prevention among older adults, and comprehensive geriatric assessment to identify the current state of play and potential for changes to falls practice. We applied a novel technique, systems mapping, to visually illustrate and analyse the interactions between components of current and proposed systems for addressing falls and constructed two conceptual maps: First, the current system was mapped by asking experts about the causal relationships between 15 system components. Second, to examine the feasibility of the proposed system, the components related to falls risk screening were replaced by radar-based home monitoring and experts were asked to re-evaluate the causal relationships between system components. Next, four scenarios (no fear of falling, no mobility limitation, maximising screening in the current system, maximising radar-based screening) were applied using the maps. Experts identified mobility deterioration and previous falls as key indicators of future falls, noting that increased screening in current practice could reduce risks but increase healthcare professionals’ workloads. Experts were positive about radar-based wireless home monitoring, believing it could reduce fall risks whilst reducing all fall-related costs. These findings suggest that, according to experts, millimetre-wave radar can be an effective solution in advancing falls prevention.

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